Every writer at one time or another thinks: I need to write faster. The page is blank. The clock is ticking. And for some reason, the writing just won’t flow.
There’s a particular frustration that comes with staring at a blank page and watching the time vanish. You begin to question everything, your process, your ability, and the project itself.
But here’s what I’ve learned, both from my own experience and from watching students work through this in my workshops: the problem isn’t speed, it’s the second-guessing. The editing while you’re still drafting. Waiting for conditions to be perfect before you begin. Eliminate those things, and the words start flowing on their own.
Writing faster isn’t really about pushing harder or squeezing more hours out of your writing day. It’s about clearing the path. Once the friction is gone, speed tends to take care of itself.
In this post, I’ll show you techniques that actually work, not “productivity hacks,” but real writing practices that help you get more words on the page. Lastly, I’ll give you a Story Weapon to help build up your writing stamina.
Learn how to write faster by adjusting your process, timeline, and practice. Build consistency by focusing less on getting it perfect the first time: instead chunking out the time to write, research, and finish. With the tools to write with routine intention you’ll get to the heart of your book on time.
Focus on the story
The first thing I tell writers when they’re stuck is this: if you’re a slow writer, it’s probably because you’re editing as you write. You write a sentence, don’t like it, delete it, and write another sentence. By the time you’ve written one paragraph, you’ve actually written five and deleted four.
The solution is simple, but it doesn’t feel simple: write the first draft, and then edit. In the first draft, place your focus on the story. In the rewrite, place your focus on the prose. Don’t worry about writing badly in your first draft. A bad sentence on the page is better than a good sentence stuck in your mind.
You can fix a bad sentence later but you can’t fix a blank page.
I don’t edit as I draft. I don’t stop, even if I know what I wrote is not quite right. I make a note — sometimes just a bracket with [fix this] — and I move on. I edit later, in a second pass.
Routine
The most prolific writers aren’t always the best writers. They’re the most consistent.
Habit is a powerful tool. When you write every day at the same time, in the same place, doing the same thing, you don’t have to think about it. The habit takes care of that. You write more because your brain is trained to do it.
It doesn’t have to be a lot of time. 30 minutes of writing every day will be more productive than 3 hours of writing a couple of times a month. Consistency beats intensity every time.
Have a plan before you start
The biggest waste of time in the writing process is not the writing but thinking about what to write while you’re trying to write it.
Every time I finish writing, I make a quick note of where I left off. A sentence, picture or a scene to begin with next time. Then, when I start writing the next day, I haven’t lost momentum.
This can work for both plotters and pantsers. You just need to know what you’re going to do tomorrow.
Use timed writing sprints
This is a very useful strategy, and it’s one I use myself.
Set a timer for 20-25 minutes. Keep writing until the timer goes off. No checking emails or notifications on your phone, no reading back over what you’ve written, no looking things up. Just keep going on.
Then a short break (5 or 10 minutes) and repeat.
The benefit of timed sprints is that there is no choice but to write. Time is ticking. There’s nothing to do but write. Writers are often amazed at how much they get done in a concentrated 20 minutes vs. a distracted 2 hours.
Common mistakes to avoid
Don’t wait for the right word
This is probably the most common mistake.
You’re mid-sentence. You can’t think of the word you want. So you wait for it while the session’s momentum slips away.
Don’t wait. Make a note to yourself. Add a note, like [word] or [something better here], and move on. The right word will come to you — often when you stop looking for it. In the first draft, you don’t need the right word. Your job is to get the meaning down. Polish it in the rewrite.
Don’t go down research rabbit holes
Research is necessary. It’s also one of the best ways to procrastinate from writing without feeling like you’re procrastinating.
You start out by looking up one thing. An hour later you’re reading about something vaguely to do with your third chapter and you haven’t written a word.
Decide how long you’re going to spend researching before you start. If you come across something you need to check while writing, put [check this] in brackets and then write more. You can do the research later in your time outside the writing.
Writing the first draft
We tend to get stuck when we try to write the polish before we write the first draft.
The first draft is not the book. It’s the stuff the book is made of.
When we allow ourselves to write a messy first draft, one we would never show anyone, we write more quickly and easily than when attempting to get it right the first time. The end result is not compromised. In fact, it’s better because we’re not choking the life out of the story before it’s born.
Your story weapon: Build your writing stamina gradually
If you normally write 200 words a day and you suddenly try to write 2,000 words a day, you’re likely going to burn out. You can build writing stamina, just like you can build physical stamina, but it takes time. Start where you are and increase a bit each week as your schedule allows.
The writers who have successful careers are the ones who write consistently, day after day, and build on what they’ve written. When it comes to writing faster, it’s not about how fast you tap the keys. It’s about cleaning up the inner friction — the resistance, the bad habits, the procrastination.
In my workshops, the students who get faster aren’t necessarily the ones who work harder. They’re the ones who remain curious and open amidst their self-doubt. They don’t edit as they write. They tend to write at the same time each day. They don’t stop even if the writing is bad. They understand that the first draft is about focusing on getting the story down, so that in the rewrite they can focus on the quality of their prose.
Writing faster is ultimately the byproduct of making your curiosity more important than the result. Your job is not to force yourself to become confident, or more self-assured, but rather, to be curious about your lack of self-confidence and insecurity. The irony is that when you approach your work from a place of deep inquiry and self-acceptance, you begin to explore the truths that put you into the flow. And when you are in the flow, the writing moves quickly, without having to force it.
If you are ready to develop a more sustainable writing practice and carry it through from first draft to a completed manuscript, join one of my next workshops: The 90-Day Novel, The 90-Day Memoir, Story Day.
